Would you give it a swing?

Oldhead

Full Member
Mar 21, 2018
196
429
New Jersey
Detector(s) used
Fisher F5
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
There is a big field right next to my development that has been nothing but a farm field since the 30's. It's now township owned and has a ball field on one end. I was thinking of swinging the more open end away from the ball field. Power lines split the field down the middle so anything more than 4 to 5 inches I doubt I'll find due to the settings I'll have to run to keep the machine quiet. Think it is worth a swing hoping to find coin that may have fallen out of a farmers pocket while plowing?
 

Upvote 0

against the wind

Gold Member
Jul 27, 2015
24,797
24,976
Port Allegheny, Pennsylvania
🏆 Honorable Mentions:
1
Detector(s) used
E-trac, Excalibur, XP Deus, & CTX 3030.
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
Well Oldhead,,
There it is.
Everyone except Tom in California is saying that you should hunt that field. Aren't you glad that you don't live in California?
 

CoinHunterAZ

Hero Member
Feb 18, 2013
858
1,498
Flagstaff, AZ
Detector(s) used
Tesoro Sidewinder Umax, Garrett ATPro, Minelab Equinox 800, Garrett Pro Pointer
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
Where I live, we don't really have "random" fields, but we do have "random" woods. Some of my best finds have come from them. I still wouldn't hesitate one second to hunt that field. You got nothing to lose. Not sure why Tom is being so discouraging.
 

Megalodon

Silver Member
May 13, 2018
2,650
4,373
Maryland
Detector(s) used
White's MXT
Tesoro Cibola
Tesoro Golden Sabre Plus
Garrett ADS Master Hunter 7
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
I think I'll give it a try. Took a walk out there this morning and realized there is a tot lot at one end. Gonna hit that first. Looking at historical aerials it looks like a field that was kept plowed from the 1930's until the late 90's. now its just grass.

Good luck! It is likely that the history of that field goes back to the 1600's. I have pulled english and spanish coins going back to the 1500's from farm fields. I think the East Coast has the advantage here over the West Coast. NJ also has Revolutionary War and War of 1812 history.
 

OP
OP
Oldhead

Oldhead

Full Member
Mar 21, 2018
196
429
New Jersey
Detector(s) used
Fisher F5
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
Good luck! It is likely that the history of that field goes back to the 1600's. I have pulled english and spanish coins going back to the 1500's from farm fields. I think the East Coast has the advantage here over the West Coast. NJ also has Revolutionary War and War of 1812 history.

I’d certainly love to find something civil war period. Definitely doesn’t have to be a coin. I’d be ecstatic with a nice button or buckle.
 

chub

Bronze Member
Apr 23, 2017
1,503
2,242
Detector(s) used
Fisher F75, Minelab Soveriegn XS 2
Nokta pinpointer
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
I wouldnt hesitate! Remember frequency shift on the F5 is your friend (around the powerlines) . I have a few hundred hours on the F5 . If it were me I would consider AM (a little extra depth) sensible gain (help it run stable)with a highish threshold. The lack of depth was my main issue with the F5 and cranking up the sensativity and thresh was too much for me to process at times....listening 'through the noise' could make my ears/ head ache.
Despite all that sometimes I miss it!

Good luck
Chub
 

Upnorth42

Full Member
Sep 26, 2014
135
177
Nova Scotia
Detector(s) used
AT PRO
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
If I have to sit and think about it then its worth a look. Maybe just a rapid pass through where you think the best chance that there used to be a house or something. If you start hitting targets slow down and look for more. If there is nothing keep passing through.
 

Whyme

Silver Member
Aug 22, 2007
3,731
5,451
Western New York
Detector(s) used
CTX-3030, Equinox 800
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
I'd swing it no matter what. But I would also look for old 1800 or older maps of the area and see if there were any houses. Then hit those areas first. There are lots of fields in my area, I've found 3 old houses on an 1856 map in my area that are gone and are just fields now. All 3 are on the same road. Maprika is an awesome program to learn and really helps finding new places to hunt.
 

Murphy

Jr. Member
Nov 28, 2015
30
50
South Carolina
If I ever think it may not be worth it then that’s when I’ll probably hang up detecting. For me it’s the thrill of possibly finding something good that I love. So needless to say any chance anywhere I’m in.
 

Tom_in_CA

Gold Member
Mar 23, 2007
13,837
10,360
Salinas, CA
🥇 Banner finds
2
Detector(s) used
Explorer II, Compass 77b, Tesoro shadow X2
.... But I would also look for old 1800 or older maps of the area and see if there were any houses. Then hit those areas first. There are lots of fields in my area, I've found 3 old houses on an 1856 map in my area ....

Why ? Why would you preference those areas first ? Why not just random fields ? Why the preference for where old habitations/activity occurred ? Careful, they'll start making fun of your education ! :tongue3:

Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go hunt in the middle of the Sahara desert now. After all: Ya never know if someone didn't walk past this spot 200 yrs. ago, and loose a coin.
 

smokeythecat

Gold Member
Nov 22, 2012
20,682
40,646
Maryland
🥇 Banner finds
10
🏆 Honorable Mentions:
1
Detector(s) used
XP Deus II
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
Once upon a time ago, not that long ago, I asked a friend to detect his farm. The house has history, but 1/4 mile from the house on the hillside where no history was known, I found a Confederate belt buckle. Go figure. I have a lot of "what is that doing here?" types of relics.
 

Tom_in_CA

Gold Member
Mar 23, 2007
13,837
10,360
Salinas, CA
🥇 Banner finds
2
Detector(s) used
Explorer II, Compass 77b, Tesoro shadow X2
... but 1/4 mile from the house on the hillsidewhere no history was known,.....


Uhhh, but sounds like you had reason to be hunting , in the vicinity, to begin with. Right ?

And sure, it's neverendingly possible that some "spot" shows up, where it was never suspected. So : Do we neverendingling hunt in the middle of nowhere ? Or do we hedge our bets and hunt where human activity was known to have occurred ?
 

Last edited:

releventchair

Gold Member
May 9, 2012
22,224
69,634
Primary Interest:
Other
If you don't have another site close and want to swing , have at it.
If you are a research buff ,find out what went on in that field over the years.

An example of a municipal field I've hunted...A homestead was demolished and spread out over part of it long ago. Then fill was brought in. (And where did the fill come from and what was in it?).
Various activities were held there over the decades. Mule pulls (spectators) tractor pulls ,fireworks viewing...

So for a place to hunt close ,it works.
Pulled some firsts out of it too!
 

Murphy

Jr. Member
Nov 28, 2015
30
50
South Carolina
Uhhh, but sounds like you had reason to be hunting , in the vicinity, to begin with. Right ?

And sure, it's neverendingly possible that some "spot" shows up, where it was never suspected. So : Do we neverendingling hunt in the middle of nowhere ? Or do we hedge our bets and hunt where human activity was known to have occurred ?
How about if we have a chance to go somewhere we just go? Some folks just way overthink things.
 

OP
OP
Oldhead

Oldhead

Full Member
Mar 21, 2018
196
429
New Jersey
Detector(s) used
Fisher F5
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
Uhhh, but sounds like you had reason to be hunting , in the vicinity, to begin with. Right ?

And sure, it's neverendingly possible that some "spot" shows up, where it was never suspected. So : Do we neverendingling hunt in the middle of nowhere ? Or do we hedge our bets and hunt where human activity was known to have occurred ?

We all understand where you are coming from. I certainly look at old maps to see where activity was. This field has been farmed for many years. It was even a tree farm for a while way back when. So that's what got me thinking. It has certainly had human activity all over it through the years.
 

CASPER-2

Gold Member
Jan 3, 2012
17,153
19,933
NEW ENGLAND
🥇 Banner finds
1
🏆 Honorable Mentions:
6
Detector(s) used
WHITE'S XLT, PI PRO, GARRETT 2500, 3- FISHER CZ21s, JW FISHER 8X
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
Personally, I do not think that just hunting "any old farmer's field" is worthwhile. There has to have been something that went on there. Eg.: a cellar hole, stage stop, park, trading post, traveler stop spot, habitation, etc....

Perhaps in Europe they can just walk out to "any cultivated field", and detect, and find stuff. But they've had 2000+ yrs. of continuous cultivation/civilization there (of which 1800+ of those years were hand-labor). Versus the USA, where our history is just too young.

Oh sure, somewhere ... in any random field in the USA, is *bound* to be a fluke wheatie, buffalo nickel, or whatever. But it's needles in hay-stacks, if you're relying on random field-worker losses. JMHO.
Actually I have found coins in every random field ive ever hit - all it takes is one person/farmer to lose a coin or a button
usually older farms were farmed by whole families or whole towns sometimes
house I grew up in when I started detecting was built in the late 30s - found out it had a small "poor farm" there
in the late 1800s - I found period stuff from when house was built - mercs and such but also found my first large cent there - lot was only about 1/4 acre - found a few musket balls too there - poor farm was maybe 5 acres
but every other field ive tried over my 40+ yrs hunting - have always come up with some keepers - from 1 acre fields to couple hundred acres
 

Hawks88

Gold Member
Aug 26, 2012
7,878
11,840
Niagara falls
Detector(s) used
Equinox 800
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
I wouldn’t hesitate. I’d have done it by now. Good luck.
 

marjam

Sr. Member
Nov 17, 2012
491
440
One other thing of note; if everyone else thought that this field wouldn't produce and didn't hunt it, then you could be looking at a virgin site. Those don't come along too often. I have had one in my time metal detecting, and i spent years detecting it and getting goodies out of it. Its hard to find anything there now, you can squeak out one every now and then, but for a long time it was great. Who knows, you may come back here and post some great finds and continue to go back, finding good things for awhile. Here's hoping you do.....
 

Tom_in_CA

Gold Member
Mar 23, 2007
13,837
10,360
Salinas, CA
🥇 Banner finds
2
Detector(s) used
Explorer II, Compass 77b, Tesoro shadow X2
Wow, this is an eye-opening thread. I have often wondered why I bump into people who've given up, d/t they don't find stuff. And they come to me asking me to loop them into sites I'm working. And when I scrutinize the rationales of what led them to wherever-it-was they were working (with meager results) I point out to them the "better odds" (ie.: the backgrounds of types finds I've made).

When I reflect back on 40+ yrs, of having scouted out virgin stage stops, virgin county picnic sites, etc.... Their was always something that pointed me in the direction of research. Ie.: they weren't just "random forest" or "random farmer's field". Yes, I know they do that in Europe, but .... here , I can point you to ag. land that's had continuous cultivation for 100 to 150 yrs., and guaranteed: You will go for days before finding a wheat penny or barber dime that "farmer bob might have lost there 100 yrs. ago".

And yes: I grant that the east coast has had 100 to 200 years more history. But if you talked to the guys over there who are "bringing in the finds", you'd probably see that, they too are hedging their bets and hitting sites where it was known that some past activity (homesites , battle sites, etc...) occurred .
 

Top Member Reactions

Users who are viewing this thread

Top